Exhibition : Frontline Scenes Exhibition
The War in Ukraine through the eyes of Youry Bilak
FREE EXHIBITION
FROM OCTOBER 11ST TO JANUARY 4th 2026
L’exposition Frontline Scenes Exhibition questions the codes of representation of war: can a staged photograph, taken on the front line with real soldiers, be considered a faithful image of war, or is it entirely fictional ?
Photograph of Ukrainian soldiers, inspired by Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper
Photograph of a Ukrainian soldier, inspired by Munch's The Scream
Photographer Youry Bilak set himself a daunting challenge. He travelled to the Ukrainian front line with a selection of the most famous icons in art history in his pocket. His goal ? To stage these works with Ukrainian soldiers.
For a moment, Youry slips back into his director's role and invites the soldiers to take a brief aesthetic break, capturing them in a timeless image that he hopes will live on forever. For if there is one quest for the photographer in this project, it is the search for the timeless image, one that will not end up in the bin like a newspaper that we consume without paying attention to it.
These 24 selected icons of art history have stood the test of time and are among the most famous pictorial works in the Western world. Frontline Scenes Exhibition, Youry has set himself the goal of offering Ukrainian soldiers the same posterity.
Photograph of a Ukrainian soldier, inspired by Johannes Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring
Exhibition designed and organised by the Mémorial’14-18 Notre-Dame-de-Lorette, featuring a series of photographs by Youry Bilak.
Guided tour
Guided tour of the exhibition
The exhibition Scenes from the Front questions the codes of representation of war. Can a staged photograph, taken on the front line with real soldiers, be considered a true image of war, or is it entirely fictional ?
Photographer Youry Bilak set himself a daunting challenge. He travelled to the Ukrainian front line with a selection of the most famous icons in art history in his pocket. His goal ? To stage these works with Ukrainian soldiers.
Durée : 45 min
Tarifs : 4 euros par personne
Lieu : centre d'histoire, Mémorial 14-18 Notre-Dame-de-Lorette
Dates : Tous les samedis à 15h
Renseignements : 03 21 74 83 15 - contact@memorial1418.com
visit in autonomy
A partir de 7 ans
The exhibition under the microscope
Emeline, our mediator, has designed a card game to accompany young visitors to the exhibition Frontline Scenes. This will enable younger visitors to look at the works that inspired Youry Bilak in his photographs. By observing carefully, they will be able to spot the differences.
Available upon request at the History Centre reception desk.
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